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Iakovos Lavassas
Civil Engineer, Research Associate
E-mail: ilava@tee.gr
George Nikolaidis
Civil Engineer, Research Associate
E-mail: info@statika.gr
Padelis Zervas
Dr. Civil Engineer, Research Associate
E-mail: zenik@statika.gr
Charalampos C. Baniotopoulos
Professor, Dr.-Ing. Civil Engineer
E-mail: ccb@civil.auth.gr
Institute of Metal Structures, Department of Civil Engineering
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
1. ABSTRACT
In the present paper, the design of the prototype of large tubular steel wind turbine tower in
earthquake areas is presented. For the simulation of the towers structural response, two
computational models have been developed, a linear model and an overall Finite Element
model in which all the details of the structure are included (flange connections, door
opening, foundation, anchoring details). The tower has been designed for plastic and
buckling limit states, for wind loading and for seismic loading as well, using both
calculation models according to the provisions of the relevant Eurocodes. A geometric,
material and boundary condition non linear analysis (including global and local shell
imperfections) of the tower is performed for the wind loading. In addition, a buckling
analysis to the perfect shell, and a limit load analysis to both perfect and imperfect shells
has been carried out for the whole structure. Finally, the three methods proposed by the
Eurocodes for the local buckling design of the shell have been compared. Concerning the
design against earthquake, an eigenvalue analysis along with a response spectrum analysis
has been performed according to the Eurocode 8 specifications. The behavior of the tower
for earthquake loading is compared to the corresponding for wind loading one regarding
both computational models.
This paper has been presented at the 7th National Conference of Steel Structures,Volos
Greece 2011,Vol 1 pp 272-279
www.statika.gr
2. INTRODUCTION
The wind turbine tower is mainly a simple cantilever beam. However, its section forms a
thin-walled cylindrical shell and therefore, several issues arise during the analysis such as
the local buckling of the shell structure or the stress concentrations around the door
opening which must be thoroughly examined. The prototype tower examined corresponds
to a 2 MW wind turbine. The height of the tower is 76.15 m, and the total height of the
wind turbine including the rotor and the blades is 123 m. The shell diameter at the base is
4.30 m and the diameter at the tower top is 3.0 m. Shell thicknesses vary from 30 mm at
the bottom to 12 mm at the top. The tower is divided into three parts connected together by
bolted flanges. The steel quality is S355 and the fabrication Class is B. It is worthy to note
that the steel tower is embedded to the reinforced concrete foundation.
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4. LOADING
The self-weight of the tower itself is 1422 kN. The weight of the nacelle, including the
blades and the rotor as provided by the manufacturer is equal to Gr=1067 kN, having the
center of gravity shifted horizontally +0,725 m from the axis of the tower and vertically
+0.50 m above the upper flange level. The wind loads of the tower are divided into two
parts; the loads at the top of the tower and the loads over the tower stem. The loads on the
tower top are provided by the manufacturer for various accidental cases. In the present
work, one of the most unfavorable pair of loads will be used (Vtop=598.74 kN,
Mtop=1665,41 kNm). The loads over the tower stem are calculated according to EC 1-1-4
for a basic wind velocity at 10m above ground of vb=27,0 m/sec and for a terrain of
category II (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2: Stem loading over the height and the circumference of the tower
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the flanges, causes concentration of circumferential stresses in the vicinity of the flange
positions. Buckling analysis has been also performed to the FE model. Global and local
imperfections to the model for the GMNIA and LBA analyses are introduced according to
the specifications [3]. The first buckling eigenvalue for imperfection class B has been
found equal to 3.44 corresponding to the local shell elastic buckling at about 6/8 of the
tower height.
6. SEISMIC ANALYSIS
The wind action is in most cases the dominant loading for the design of a wind turbine
tower. However, the turbine as a flexible structure having a big height and the mass of the
rotor system and the blades concentrated at the top, it forms an inverse pendulum.
Designing the tower for an area with high seismic risk, it must be analyzed for the seismic
loads as well, in order to determine whether the latter significant for the design of the
structure or not.
FE
model
Linear
Mass
model participation
1st
0,357
0,324
61.7%
3rd
2,820
2,626
14.9%
9th
7,520
7,850
4.9%
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For the assessment of the effects due to the combination of the components of the seismic
action, the SRSS procedure was adopted. A comparison of the seismic loading results
versus the relevant for extreme wind loading is shown on Table 2.
Description
f,top (mm)
G+W
G+1.5W
G+E
1.195
530
V,Base (kN)
1.342
499
M,Base (kNm)
88.731
25.449
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plasticized areas near the door position. The corresponding buckling resistance ratios are
1,42 for Case 1, and 1,32 for Case 2.
Rmean
Tmean
,Ed / ,Rd
,Ed / ,Rd
,Ed / ,Rd
Lower
21,50
2.064
24,7
236 / 327
55,0 / 13,7
103 / 57,0
Middle
26,395
1.85
18,5
208 / 304
62,0 / 7,60
74,0 / 8,0
Upper
27,425
1.603
13,6
186 / 253
68,0 / 4,95
55,0 / 8,0
8. CONCLUSIONS
A linear model can be used for the seismic design of the tower, but not for the design for
wind actions because of the presence of circumferential stresses near the flange positions.
The dominant load for the design of the specific tower is the extreme wind loading.
However it is not evident that this conclusion stands for all cases of wind tower design. An
analysis for seismic loads must be done in all cases in order to determine whether it is
significant or not for the structural design.
The results from the limit load analyses indicate that the tower is reaching the plastic limit
load before approaching the elastic bifurcation point. The collapse is induced by the shell
buckling at the material yielding zones, where the plasticizing von Mises stresses are
components of the compressive meridional and circumferential stresses.
The preferable method for the design of the tower against buckling seems to be the global
numerical analysis using LBA and MNA analyses, according to [3] 8.6. In this case the
This paper has been presented at the 7th National Conference of Steel Structures,Volos
Greece 2011,Vol 1 pp 272-279
www.statika.gr
imperfections are introduced indirectly by the employment of the overall elastic
imperfection factor (rRov).
The global numerical analysis using GMNIA analysis design according to [3] 8.7 is more
straightforward, but at the same time it is proved to be more tedious and requires an indepth knowledge of the applicable imperfections and the calibration factor (kGMNIA).
The stress design procedure of [3] (8.5) results in rather conservative values, especially
considering the circumferential stresses. The use of stiffening rings for this type of analysis
is inevitable.
9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The financial support of EC through the Research Fund for Coal and Steel Research
Project HISTWIN coordinated by Prof. Dr. Milan Veljkovic, Lule Technical University, is
gratefully acknowledged.
10. REFERENCES
[1] EN 1993-1-4: Actions on structures General actions, 2005.
[2] EN 1993-1-1: Design of steel structures General rules and rules for buildings,
2005.
[3] EN 1993-1-6 Design of steel structures General strength and stability of steel
structures, 2007.
[4] EN 1998-1 Design of structures for earthquake resistance General rules,
seismic actions and rules for buildings, 2004.
[5] EN 1998-6 Design of structures for earthquake resistance Towers, masts and
chimneys, 2005.
[6] GL Wind 2003 IV Part 1: Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines,
2004.
[7] Lavassas I. , Nikolaidis G. , Zervas P. , Efthimiou E. , Doudoumis I.N., C.C.
Baniotopoulos Analysis and design of a prototype of a steel 1-MW wind turbine
tower, Engineering structures, No. 25, 2003, pp 1097 1106.
[8] Lavassas I. , Nikolaidis G. , Zervas P. , Doudoumis I.N., C.C. Baniotopoulos
Analysis and design of the 1 MW Steel Wind Turbine towers at mount
Kalogerovouni Laconia, 4th National Conference on Steel Structures, Patras
Greece, 2002, pp. 272 280.
[9] Baniotopoulos, C.C., Borri, C. & Stathopoulos, T. (eds), Environmental Wind
Engineering and Design of Wind Energy Structures, CISM Lecture Notes 531,
Springer, 2011.
This paper has been presented at the 7th National Conference of Steel Structures,Volos
Greece 2011,Vol 1 pp 272-279
www.statika.gr
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E-mail: ilava@tee.gr
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This paper has been presented at the 7th National Conference of Steel Structures,Volos
Greece 2011,Vol 1 pp 272-279